Giuliani Duke Golf Lawsuit Shanks

MAY 20--In an opinion peppered with golf references and a quote from 'Caddyshack' star Bill Murray, a federal magistrate has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Rudolph Giuliani's son over his booting from Duke University's varsity golf team. In a lawsuit filed last year, Andrew Giuliani, 23, claimed that the North Carolina school breached a contract when it dropped him from the golf team in early-2008. The school (and coach Orrin Daniel Vincent III) countered by saying that Giuliani was bounced for a variety of boorish acts, including assaulting a teammate, defying coaches, and violating 'both the rules and the spirit of the game of golf.' In an opinion issued yesterday, Magistrate Judge Wallace W. Dixon sided with Duke in its bid for a judgment against Giuliani. A copy of Dixon's May 19 opinion, which will now likely be adopted by a U.S. District Court judge, can be found here. Dismissing one Giuliani claim, Dixon wrote that the misplaced argument 'brings to mind Carl Spackler's analysis' from 'Caddyshack': 'He's on his final hole. He's about 455 yards away, he's gonna hit about a 2 iron, I think.' Though no longer on the golf team, Giuliani graduated this month from Duke, so he's got that going for him. (12 pages)